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Biofilm Testing

Biofilm Testing Solutions to Ensure Efficacy and Safety in Antimicrobial Products

Biofilm-associated infections significantly impact the efficacy of antimicrobial products, often reducing their effectiveness and complicating treatment strategies. iFyber's biofilm testing services can help.

iFyber specializes in biofilm testing solutions to verify the efficacy of antimicrobial medical devices and drugs. These include but are not limited to antimicrobial dressings, bio-engineered tissue products, biomaterials, bioactive dressings, and novel anti-infectives.

Biofilms pose a major clinical threat. Current US National Institutes of Health estimates suggest biofilms account for over 80% of all microbial infections. Given the relatively recent understanding of biofilms, biofilm testing is becoming an increasingly common addition to the screening profile of new antimicrobial technologies.

By taking a multi-method biofilm testing approach, treatments can be evaluated for their ability to both prevent the formation of biofilms and eradicate existing biofilms. Whether you need biofilm susceptibility testing or to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of a product, you can get the data and answers you need with iFyber.

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What are biofilms?

Complex communities of microbes protected within a matrix of sugars, proteins, and extracellular DNA.
Biofilms can form on a range of surfaces, including medical devices and human tissue systems.
Compared to free-floating (planktonic) forms of microorganisms, biofilm-associated microorganisms are more difficult to kill due largely to the presence of this protective matrix and a reduction of metabolic activity.

A graphic showing Biofilm, Highlighting a need for Antimicrobial efficacy and biofilm testing

Biofilm Testing Services

iFyber offers a menu of assays and biofilm testing solutions that assess biofilm prevention and eradication efficacy, in addition to custom biofilm test models often needed for developing technologies to combat resistant biofilm infections.

In Vitro: Bottom of the Plate (BOTP) Assay

Biofilm susceptibility testing is critical in the medical device industries because biofilms can form on implants, catheters, and other medical devices, leading to persistent infections. Biofilms are highly resistant to standard antimicrobial treatments, making infections difficult to eradicate. Testing ensures that medical devices and pharmaceutical products can effectively prevent and eliminate biofilms, improving patient outcomes and reducing infection-related complications.

The Minimum Biofilm Eradication Concentration (MBEC) assay is a commonly used in vitro high throughput screening method to assess the efficacy of antimicrobials against biofilms formed by various microorganisms. However, the MBEC assay has limitations, such as its suitability for only a limited range of microorganisms and high variability in results. To address these challenges, iFyber has developed an alternative model known as the Bottom-of-the-Plate (BOTP) assay. In this model, diverse microorganisms can form mature biofilms at the bottom of 96-well plates. The BOTP assay serves as a high throughput alternative to the MBEC assay, offering less variability and more reliable data. It is well-suited for evaluating the prevention and eradication of biofilms by a variety of antimicrobial products.

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Ex Vivo: Porcine Dermal Model (PDM)

This custom assay, originally developed by the late Dr. Greg Schultz at the University of Florida, models a mature biofilm on a relevant tissue substrate, representative of many bacterial infections that occur in soft tissues. This model isolates the biofilm component of these infections through the growth of a mature biofilm within a natural porcine dermal matrix. The resulting biofilm (typically grown over 72 hours) exhibits high tolerance to many antibiotics and, importantly, incorporates a clinically relevant substrate, which is useful when assessing product efficacy in the presence of soft tissue.

iFyber has extensive experience adapting this model to our clients’ needs to test for antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity against a challenge exhibiting tolerance to high doses of antibiotics. In this model, tissue explants are created, wounded, and subsequently infected to enable high throughput screening using a number of assay formats (prevention, eradication, dispersal, synergy).

The characteristics of biofilms grown on non-biological substrates can differ from what occurs in soft tissue. When looking for antimicrobial solutions to eradicate biofilms from wounds in particular, it can be informative to use an assay that closely approximates the wound environment. Porcine skin is physiologically very similar to that of human skin. Using skin as both the substrate for attachment, and the primary source of nutrition, allows for the development of a biofilm that mimics the characteristics of biofilms found in human wounds. This ex vivo model allows for a high throughput screening of compounds, prototype formulations, solid wound dressings, etc., to complement/augment more costly animal studies.

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Infections Associated with Biofilms:

Chronic Infected Wounds
Catheter-associated urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI)
Central line-associated and catheter-related bloodstream Infections (CLABSI and CRBI)
Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Suture Infection (ABSSSI)
Ventilator-associated Pneumonia (VAP)
Acute Otitis Media (Ear Infection)
Acute Vulgaris
Gingivitis
Cystic Fibrosis Lung Infection
And more

Examples of Relevant Materials for Biofilm Testing:

New antibiotics/biocides
Coatings
Nanomaterials
Wound dressings
Gels and ointments
Wound washes
Coated natural tissue matrices
Coated medical devices
And more

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Ready to elevate your research? Discover precision, expertise, and collaboration with iFyber. Contact us to discuss your biofilm testing needs.